3...

Walkin' a Mile in No Shoes At All.


Across the Atlantic Ocean, in the middle of the Sahara, whole villages are being burned to the ground, mothers and daughters are being raped, children are being slaughtered and nothing is being done about it.

Western Sudan is a fucking disaster. The atrocities being committed there are at least on par with that Saddam coordinated prior to his dismissal. The only difference in this case is that Saddam was not actively trying to eradicate the entire Shi'a population, unlike the current regime in Sudan who has made it a point to kill as many African civilians as possible in Darfur.

Most Americans either do not know much about the situation in Darfur, or they just don't give a shit. The US government has by and large been silent on the issue, seemingly preoccupied with the current tw0-front war being waged across the Middle East. Which is why it is nice to see one of the more visible figures in American culture lending his press power to the cause.

Often times celebrities choose to throw their weight behind a particular cause. Rock stars will write songs about hunger, actors will adopt babies from Bangladesh, pampered heiress' will come to the "aid" of their gay friends. We pretend to care, we act like we contribute by buying the album, seeing the movie, or buying that cute top. We expect this behavior from such public figures, whether or not it actually makes an real impact or not is debatable. But rarely do we see this kind of behavior from athletes. Athletes, either out of ignorance, apathy, or fear of sponsor reprisal, never seem to publicly speak out with respect to political affairs.

Sure, we saw Lebron come out in favor of Obama last summer, but considering the results of the November election, this was about as controversial as choosing Coke over Pepsi. Tracy McGrady, rather than just talking, has actually done something. He recently traveled to Chad in order to visit with some of the displaced Sudanese refugees. And since then he has been speaking to people across the country in order to drum up awareness not only of the crisis, but also in order to raise money for to meet the specific needs of the refugees.

This seems different from the average Hollywood starlet placing a pin over over her collar, and not only due to the fact that McGrady's actions are so uncommon given his profession. Rather, his actions seem to have a significance simply due to their potential alone. Athletes are generally larger than life figures both in stature and lifestyle. Unlike actors or musicians, who can hide in their respective studios, athletes are constantly visible, yet we continuously stand in awe of them. Even a contrarian such as Benny DC would still be noticeably stirred in the presence of a figure such as a Shaq, or even a Terrell Owens.

The average athlete does more for his or her community, country, and world than any average citizen, and we, the fan, preach that this is the way it should be. After all, they're fucking rich. They should do these things. But at the same time, we don't want to be preached to. "That's fine Brangelina, but just cause you wanted to give the poor Asian baby a better life, doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face." But aside from the money and the prestige, any average citizen can do the exact same thing. The NBA Cares! Well so do I, goddamn it. I can sign up for Habitat for Humanity and rebuild the Lower 9th... but the game is on in like 10 minutes, so...

But that's the very point; when someone like McGrady gets involved like this, it is different, and all aspects of his life come into play including his size, lifestyle, charisma, and reach. He is a walking billboard, but like none we have ever seen. The off-court actions of an athlete resonate in a different way than the movie star or the musician, because we attach ourselves to the athlete in a different way. The movie star and the musician's actions unfold in an orchestrated manner. Scene 7, take 4. 3rd song, 2nd set. There is neither a script, no setlist for the athlete because the game is dictated by too many variable elements, and the athlete must operate within these fluctuating circumstances... And we watch it all unfold, seeing how the athlete responds to real life stimulus.



Sure, Tracy looks about as clueless in some of the scenes as any of us would were we thrown into a Rockets-Lakers game in the middle of the 3rd quarter. And that's the best part about it. Because he is trying just as hard in this situation, as we would in that situation. But what is important is that Tracy has chosen to step down from his tower of untouchability and dropped into the real world. In fact, he has dropped to a place that is even below the real world, and has invited us all the follow. Follow down to the places that we would rather not even think about on a day to day basis. But if the high profile that he has brought to this situation, combined with his leadership skills developed on the court, can get not just the common person off of their ass, but also more athletes, then this could be a watershed moment.

This ain't Dhani Jones Tackles the Globe, folks. There's no contract in it for McGrady. In fact, there's really nothing in it for him at all. But there's something in it for us, and there is definitely something in it for those suffering across the world. And so in the face of all the misery that we typically choose to turn away from, for once we can acknowledge it and maybe even grin in the face of it, albeit for a brief moment. And we can thank the new number 3 for that.